


"Oh Captain, Make Up Your Mind-

by Vereen



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: AWESAMDAD SUPREMACY, Alternate Universe - Magic, Alternate Universe - Pirate, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Atlantic Empire, Bad Family SBI + Tubbo, Bad family, Bad person Phil Watson, Basically: magic is real but its illegal, Big Brother Dream (Video Blogging RPF), Bird Hybrid Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), Captain Puffy is a Good Mom, Dont worry Tommy find a better one, Dream is an ok dude here, Duck Hybrid Alexis | Quackity, Eret uses multiple pronouns, F/M, Fluff, Found Family, Fox Hybrid Floris | Fundy, Goat Hybrid Jschlatt (Video Blogging RPF), Hurt/Comfort, Hybrid Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), Hybrid Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF), Hybrid Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF), Hybrid TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), I wrote an AU bc I cant cope with canon, I'm not really using minecraft logic except for potions, Karlnapity, M/M, Manipulative SBI, Multi, Philza Minecraft is a bad dad, Piglin Hybrid Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF), Running Away, Sad TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Sheep Hybrid Cara | CaptainPuffy, The Chapter Titles are all POTC quotes, TommyInnit Deserves Better (Video Blogging RPF), TommyInnit-centric (Video Blogging RPF), and the royal fam is a bitch, dreamnotfound, i hate that these tags use real names, if it shows please dont mention it, no beta we die like wilbur soot, pirates use it bc why not, yes.... I may have forgotten to ask my friends to beta this
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-07
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-12 21:54:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,465
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29891100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vereen/pseuds/Vereen
Summary: -Before The Salt Burns Your Eyes And You Run Out Of Time.”(Song lyrics taken from Stefan Argus’s ‘Ship in a Bottle’)Prince Theseus Craft of the Empire was not a title Tommy wanted to bear. Why would he, when all it had brought him was pain and misery? Maybe being taken by pirates at the port would be a good thing--or maybe, just maybe, he’d find a new, better family.Aka:Tommy, Prince of being thrown away by everyone he lives, finds a new family in a ragtag group of magic-using pirates. Meanwhile, his old family searches for the lost prince, if just to have a trophy to keep in a glass cage.
Relationships: Alexis | Quackity/Karl Jacobs/Sapnap, Cara | CaptainPuffy & Sam | Awesamdude, Clay | Dream & Sapnap & TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream/GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF), Dream SMP Ensemble & TommyInnit, Floris | Fundy & Ghostbur, Toby Smith | Tubbo & Wilbur Soot & Technoblade & Phil Watson, the rest of these are platonic :)
Comments: 44
Kudos: 250





	1. Did No One Come To Save Me Just Because They Missed Me?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YOYOYOYOYOOOOO I MADE MY OWN PIRATE AU
> 
> I am,,,, a big reader of the Bad Dad Phil tag,,,, unfortunately
> 
> Yes, I know this came out like 3 days after Nerd's, they are my bestest friend and also I showed this to them and we were both happy :)
> 
> -V

Tommy was tired.

Prince Theseus Craft of the Antarctic Empire was a heavy title to bear, and maybe he was a little selfish when he wished it on anyone else. But he  _ gave _ so much it was ok to be a little selfish, right? 

According to Phil, Techno, Wilbur, and Tubbo, being selfish for him was only ok if he kept the selfish thoughts private. Never aloud, and never shared. And never,  _ ever _ acted upon. 

Really, his best friend and most trusted confidant had been his mother, and she hadn’t been there for him since he was what, 7? 

At least she had a reason for not being there. She was dead.

Like,  _ dead _ dead.

He didn’t remember it very clearly, the death itself. 

He remembered the feeling of loss, of fear, of not knowing how to move on much more clearly. 

He’d coped by locking himself in his room for weeks, and when he came out,  his father Phil and the crown prince had gone out hunting, and Wilbur was locked in his room, not because of grief, but because he wanted to get Phil’s attention. 

Only Phil’s attention.

Wilbur was mad with that desire, and it was only Tommy being a scapegoat for his wild projects and insane schemes that probably kept him from killing Techno.

Honestly, it was only a matter of time before Tommy got himself betrayed, with his selflessness. It happened first with Wilbur, most often with Wilbur, but then it kept happening with Techno. 

The piglin brute had an uncontrollable bloodlust, and often Tommy found himself taking the brunt of the attacks.

This happened more and more often as Tommy and Techno got older, and Phil’s hunting trips became less and less.

Wilbur, in his hunt for attention, had pushed Tommy to nothing more than a test subject. In his latest attempt, Wilbur had been brewing potions in his room. He tried to master each type, and then tried to make his own. In the process, he made one, and then tried it on Tommy, looked to see what reaction he got, and then either be satisfied or try again. Wash rinse repeat. 

Tommy couldn’t find it in himself to try and deny Wilbur’s request for someone to test them on. He had found whenever Wilbur asked him something, it was incredibly hard to deny it to him. He’d lost many things that way, his dignity, his health, and many days to the recovery bed, but he couldn’t find it in himself to deny Wilbur even then.

Tommy had tried to find solace in who he thought was his best friend, Tubbo, but once Phil had become fond enough of the orphan, he made him a prince and suddenly, Tommy was alone again.

So Tommy learned to close himself off. Let no one in, so no one will get close enough for the betrayal to hurt. Let them think they’ve come close, put up the front. Pretend to be loud and energetic around  _ them _ , not so you can feel proud when they think they’ve won and they didn’t, but so when they hurt you the wound doesn’t hurt as bad. Keep your hobbies to yourself, ask for nothing. They won’t give you anything, anyway. If you’re enjoying yourself, it’s selfish.

Let them forget, because that hurts less than a willing betrayal. 

Pretend to be nothing so you become nothing. Lock yourself in your room until someone comes for you.

Pretend to be happy when you go out, and don’t let anyone know otherwise.

_ Show the Empire a growing boy, now! _

_ Don’t be a weak, sniveling, pathetic  _ **_runt._ **

Tommy learned to lock himself away, so when people come they find nothing to take, and hopefully it makes them leave him alone.

~~ It doesn’t work. ~~

* * *

“Theseus?” Tommy’s head raised at the voice through the door. “The king has called for you.”

He sighed and pulled himself off the wall, away from the window. He had been watching Tubbo again, out with the bees.

Once Tubbo had what he wanted, he’d left Tommy alone. He’d practically forgotten him.

Tommy had been grateful then.

It had hurt less.

“Did he give any specific requests? Do I need to bring anything, wear anything?” 

_ ‘Be anything?’  _ Was left unsaid.

“Um, just that he expected you to look decent, and that you should fix your hair.”

_ Ah _ , so a royal wave-session, then.

The King, Tommy knew, only wanted him for two things.

1, a punching bag for the crown prince.

2, a trophy to pull out for greetings and to put back later. Let it collect dust.

Let them forget about him. At least it hurt less.

“Alright, thank you,” Tommy said to the guard outside. He stepped into his closet and looked for something nice. A white shirt with a white coat should do. He grabbed some dress pants to go with it. 

He put it on and looked in the mirror. Wrinkling his nose, he quickly grabbed a red cloak to go with it. It was nice and furred on the hood, and the red darkened as it went down. 

He then quickly fixed his hair and went down to the throne room, stopping at the guards. They smiled at him, only barely. He gave a wry grin back, and they turned to face him as the door opened. 

Phil was on the throne, speaking to Techno about something on a scroll as Wilbur stood off to the side, glaring at the crown prince. Tubbo was nowhere to be found, as was expected of the free spirited prince. 

“Ah, Theseus, how nice of you to join us!” Phil said to his youngest, and his only biological son. Tommy internally grimaced at the nickname as he smiled up at the King.

The nickname had actually been Techno’s idea, and since Phil thought it had been rather royal-sounding (much more than the simple Thomas his mother had given him) he only called him Theseus, and whatever the King did, the rest of the castle quickly followed suit.

“You know, you really look better when your hair is styled the other way,” Phil sighed. “Why on Earth do you insist on wearing it  _ that _ way?” 

_ ‘Because that’s the way mum used to style it,’ _ he thought.  _ ‘Not like you were around to see it.’ _

Instead, he said nothing, just stared up at Phil with defiant silence.

“I say let him wear it how he wants it, ‘s not like it looks  _ that  _ bad,” Techno said, rather helpfully for once. Tommy looked at him with well-concealed surprise.

Phil sighed. “Alright, he can get away with it  _ today _ , but tomorrow I expect to see it styled the other way.”

Tommy nodded. “Of course, sir.” He made a quick bow and then scurried over to the side of the room. Not by Wilbur, never Wilbur. Last time he had been by Wilbur was years ago, and Tommy had almost broken something. What it was, he didn’t quite remember, but since then he had stood at the side of the room.

Let them forget, it hurts less.

“Ah, where is Tubbo? Have you seen him, mate?” Phil asked Wilbur. “He’s late again, although what else should I expect from the light-hearted prince,” he sighed and looked at the door with a fond smile. Tommy frowned and turned away.

It was five minutes later when Tubbo came rushing through, hair messily brushed and cape lopsided on his shoulders. “Sorry I’m late, I was playing with the bees!” He stopped in the middle of the throne room, panting. His hands rested on his knees, and when he raised his head, it was all flushed and his bangs were curling in front of his face. 

“Ah, and here’s the prince of the hour!” Wilbur laughed, and when Tommy looked at them, they were all smiling. Even Techno cracked a small grin at the other’s antics. “Come on up here Tubbo, stand by me!” Tubbo did so without question, without even a glance at his ex-best friend. 

And  _ oh, _ Tommy realized. He was being replaced. Well, what better time to tell him than this, he supposed. 

“That’s quite alright son! Those bees do need an awful lot of care, don’t they?” Phil laughed, ruffling Tubbo’s hair as he made his way up.

_ Son. _ Tommy could feel the tears welling up in his eyes. He wouldn’t let them fall, though.

He never let them fall.

Let them forget,  ~~ it didn’t hurt less. It hurt more. ~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAHA I HAVE BAD DAD PHIL IN HERE LOLLLLLLLLLLL
> 
> Dont worry if people dont show up right away,,,,, they will :]
> 
> Please leave a comment!!
> 
> -V


	2. Yes, What Makes You Think He Will Come Back?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tommy makes a decision, plans (and executes) an escape, and runs into trouble in the span of a week. 
> 
> Was leaving the castle worth this? 100%

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmmm, Runaway Tommy, What will he dooooo???
> 
> Probably get himself kidnapped, honestly. lol
> 
> DUDUDUDUU

Tommy paced his room, back and forth. 

_ ‘I can’t be selfish, I can’t be selfish,’ _ repeated like a mantra in his head. 

_ Step step step, step step clunk. _

Tommy could barely breathe. His ‘family’ had replaced him. They’d finally done it. 

Tubbo was now Prince Tubbo in the eyes of the Empire, and Tommy had gotten to take a backseat in the royal formalities. 

_ Step step step, step step clunk. _

Tommy could leave, he could-  _ ‘I can’t be selfish, that’s selfish.’ _

Was it selfish though, what he was planning? Was it really selfish, or was it just self-preservation? 

What was the difference between being selfish and caring about your self-preservation, anyway?

_ Step step step, step step clunk. _

Was there a difference? All his life, he’d been told “no.”

But when you really looked at it, self preservation was just instinct to do what you can to protect yourself. Selfish was doing things in excess, only thinking of yourself.

You could think of yourself and of others, couldn’t you?

_ Step step step, step step clunk. _

But what could he do? 

He couldn’t really start with Wilbur. The man was over maybe once a month with a new potion, if Tommy wasn’t still recovering from the last one. He knew Wilbur would come, although his visits were far and few in between.

He couldn’t start with Techno, either. It seemed like every single time he saw the crown prince he got pummeled. Was there a single moment that they had together that was civil, other than in public?  ~~ That was mostly fake, anyway. ~~

Phil was out of the question. The king could barely be touched, and Tommy didn’t think he needed Phil anyway.

What did he need?

_ Step step step, step step  _ **_clunk_ ** _. _

He sighed and looked down at his feet to see what kept making the clunking noise.

A small ship in a bottle. It was a rather pretty boat, all things considered. He hadn’t spent much time around boats or studying them to know what kind of boat it was, but it reminded him of pirates.

What an exciting thought!  _ Pirates. _ The scourge of the sea, adventuring for treasure. Always going, always moving, never stopping except at their own island, where they stored all their treasure for safekeeping. Never alone.

Prime, what would  _ that  _ be like?

Tommy picked the sailing vessel up.

This didn’t look like a very uncommon ship. Maybe he could find one by the port and join their crew? Run away and never come back. 

How would he get out though? He couldn’t just walk out the front gates. He had to be  _ stealthy. _ He had to make sure his disappearance went unnoticed for a while. A good, long while.

He should have at least a month before Wilbur was ready with a new batch of potion, he was just over a few days ago.

He grabbed a bag from a hanger and walked over to his closet. He frowned.

All the clothes here were  _ much _ too fancy for a port boy.

He’d have to go get some clothes from the servants, which wasn’t such a big deal. Except then people would know where he went, and he wanted to avoid people at all cost.

Although.

It would actually contribute to the plan, if he could get in touch with some servants. He’d get village clothes and a free ride out of the palace grounds. The port wasn’t too far of a walk from the palace outskirts.

Maybe this could work out.

* * *

It was working.

If all went to plan, he’d be out of the ground by tonight, with decent clothing (honestly they were a comfort. He’d spent too long in stuffy royal clothes. They were shit.) and a free ride out.

He was incredibly fortunate that there was a cook sympathetic to his plea.

Clara was a lifesend. Her own son had moved out of the castle grounds a few years ago, and she still had all of his old clothes. It’d taken her about three days to fix them to be his size, and she was part of a crew going out to town for supplies before sunset. 

She’d taken one look at him and rushed him off to a pantry.

“I-” 

She shushed him, covering his mouth. 

“I assume you don’t want anyone to know you’re here, Prince.” Tommy nodded dumbly, eyes wide. “What do you need? A meal, a snack?”

“I need a way out of here,” Tommy said breathlessly. 

Clara stared at him for a moment, before looking him up and down. “Where are you planning to run off to?”

And that was that. Turns out, most of the staff had been worried about him since his mother’s death. He’d locked himself in his room and since then the staff had only seen him either in the recovery wing, unconscious, or on the podium it was clear he didn’t want to be on.

Clara told him this the night his escape had been planned. He had dressed himself in a nicer pair of her son’s pants and a dark grey shirt. The pants had enough pocket space for a pouch of coins, a dagger, a compass, and another pouch with some of his late mother’s jewelry.

A thick gold band that was much too big for his wrist;

A ring with an amethyst gem inlaid in its center and little white stones glittering around the rest;

A necklace with a simple green gem;

And an earring. A lone earring that his mother had gifted him, the night before she died. He wasn’t worried about where the other part of the pair was, because he knew where it laid at all times. 

In another bag (an extra of Clara’s) he had packed about 5 days rations, well enough to last him the journey to the port town;

3 extra pairs of clothing;

A canteen;

A bedroll;

Some torches from the cellar;

And when Clara wasn’t looking, he stuffed the ship-in-a-bottle in the biggest pocket. Clara had just laughed good-naturedly and added a map and a book about ships.

Tommy was ready to go.

All that was left was getting out of the castle undetected.

* * *

A small group of servants were walking up to the castle gate. This was, of course, normal. The only real trouble was that one of the members of this group was, in fact, Tommy.

The plan was that the guards would think nothing of it. They’d make a head count, let them go, and when the group returned, they would find one member conveniently missing. They’d make their way to the kitchen to tell the head chef the next day that that person never returned, only to find him sitting right there.

They’d shake their heads and wonder how he got past them and then think nothing of it.

That is, of course, if the plan worked. 

Tommy was not very optimistic, but Clara reassured him that most of the guards were very lax since there had been no wars and no attempts on the royal family’s lives recently.

The group reached the gate and the guards chuckled, beginning the headcount.

“2, 4, 6… 12!” The taller one said. “You’re all ready to go! Just a reminder though, everyone’s gotta be back by 2 hours past sundown, as always!”

The group gave a steady nod, and one or two rolled their eyes. 

“I know, you’ve heard it a million times, but it’s protocol! Have a great time, guys!”

And he was free.

He waited until he had passed at least 3 blocks and was well out of the guards’ lines of sight before he turned and locked Clara in a hug. 

He murmured his thanks through choked sobs, but Clara only patted his back. When he was done, she pointed him in the direction of the port, showed him what letter to follow on his compass, and waved goodbye.

Tommy looked back up at the castle.

A dark, looming figure, filled with tears of bad memories and traumas. He wouldn’t be sad to see it go. He wouldn’t be back. 

He’d be dead before he let that happen.

* * *

The journey to the port had taken him a solid 3 days, and on the fourth he set out to watch the ships come and leave.

The port was crowded, very different from the capital. There were people of all different types here, some with darker skin, some with lighter skin, some human, most not.

Everyone seemed to make some sort of noise, and none of it sounded like the castle in any way.

To him, it sounded like music.

The ships were wonderful too! Tommy had only been able to read about half of the book in the dim candle light the night before (he couldn’t read it on the road, that would be dumb, letting his guard down) so he only recognized some of the ship types. 

A few full-rigged ships that looked to be carrying passengers, a sloop that carried a few fishermen, and a strange looking ship further down the dock. He couldn’t tell what kind of ship it was from here, but he knew it was odd. There seemed to be an aura around the ship, as if something that the crew was doing was incredibly different to the rest.

He felt someone’s eyes on him, and he turned to find a person with a white mask seemingly looking at him.

He couldn’t quite tell what he was looking at exactly, but his gut told him the man with the :) mask was looking right at him.

He didn’t know. He couldn’t know.

Could he?

Tommy was quickly forgotten, he wouldn’t be anyone’s focus for long anyway. There were better princes to look at, he wouldn’t catch anyone’s eye.

Would he?

Tommy glanced at the masked man again only to find him gone. Tommy’s head flew wildly around the crowded port to try to catch any glimpse of the white mask.

Then he felt a hand on his shoulder.

His head whipped around to find the masked man standing behind him.

“You must be the new hire!” The man said faux-cheerily. “You get lost trying to find us, did you?”

Tommy gulped and nodded, eyes narrowing at the man.

“Well, I’ll show you the way to the captain, then. She’s been waiting for you, you know.”

Tommy did not like the idea of this man getting him into a shady pub, but he was ready to be dragged back kicking and screaming.

~~ Or dead. ~~

The man led him to a smaller pub and sat them down in a corner booth.

The pub was quiet, at least, and nearly empty. Light came through the windows, and Tommy could see the dust that littered the tables. There was no fire going in the fireplace, and even in the heat of summer (really though, summer wasn’t that much different than winter at the bottom of the world), Tommy shivered. There were about three people sitting down, and the bartender was nowhere to be found. Some warning bells rang in Tommy’s head, but he focused on the people.

A young man, tanned skin, black hair, and a bandana around his forehead. He had unusually red eyes and seemed to be playing with the flame in the candle in front of him. He had no meal.

Another man with sunglasses, brown hair, and a nicer looking shirt. Too nice for this establishment. He was talking with a woman and he also had no meal in front of him.

The woman had horns curled around her sheep-like ears, tucking into a ponytail full of fluffy white hair. Tommy wondered if it was actually wool. A hat sat in front of, and it vaguely reminded him of a captain’s hat. She had no meal in front of her, although she did have a drink.

“So, Prince Theseus,” the man started, “I think I have a good enough ransom for everyone to be satisfied.”

Tommy froze. The man had been louder than he liked, even in a near-empty pub.

A glance told him all he needed to know about the three other people there.

The woman flashed a smile at Tommy, and he knew his gig was up. 

He was in a pub full of pirates.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SPEEDRAN THE HECK OUT OF THIS HAHA I AM GOING TO DUDUDUDUU EVERY SINGLE CHAPTER PROBABLY
> 
> Please leave comments and kudos!!! <3
> 
> -V


End file.
